Vintage Corner: Promark XBeats practice sticks

Practice sticks: Promark XBeats, Matt Savage signature models. XB1 for general/concert work, XB2 for marching.

Made for Promark by Xymox in the early days, 1999-2002.
Xymox also sold these under their own brand and called them Deadbeats (an unfortunate choice considering later Xymox history), and they’ve recently been resurrected by Xymox 2.1.

Original Deadbeats are extremely scarce.
The Promark XB2s show up now and then, the XB1s less often.

These play far better than similar models offered by Vic Firth, and so much better than sticking rubber tips onto existing sticks, which in my experience is mostly a joke.
I’m happy to have both sets in my collection, and I’m still looking for a pair of the original Deadbeats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Bitty Drumkit: complete, mostly.

I put it all together today.

The Suitcase kick from Side Show Drums is really quite nice for the money. I chose to drill a few more holes and add a port for a cymbal arm, and while it works, I’m going to add a flange inside on the bottom to give the arm more stability. I’ll need that stability when I swap out the placeholder cymbal and add a heavier ride cymbal.

With no padding inside, the drum sounds great. They’ve thought about the material the suitcase is made of and set it up accordingly with nothing more than a small sound port. 

Here’s the setup for now. Depending on what my needs are, I may set that splash up with a clamp off the hi hat stand as a mini crash cymbal after I get the ride cymbal.

New Drum Day: 1960's Kent snare drum

I hadn't planned on getting another snare drum.

I already had two snare drums for use with my mini-kit, and a couple of marching snare drums that I'd planned on keeping for fun. I certainly didn't need this drum. 

But it was simple, lightweight and vintage -- and it came with a padded case, which I knew I'd need for gigging with the mini-kit. The total cost was a steal, and if I didn't likle the drum I could sell it for more than I'd paid.

I'm not sure I'll sell it, though. 

It's a lovely snare drum, with a wood shell, stick chopper rims, and single tension. The seller told me it was a Kent, a decent budget brand of its time, though the soundhole badge had been removed.
I paid less than a hundred bucks for it and once I tuned it up it sounded fine. I'll hang out with it for awhile and see what I think in a month or so.

Little Bitty Drumkit — Part Three

This is the one piece I hung onto when I sold my full size kit last year.

I kept it because I knew I couldn’t replace it easily.

At the time, I had a couple sets of hi-hat cymbals from Zildjian, a pair of Quick Beats and a pair of New Beats. Both great sets, but heavy for the kind of drumming I envisioned.

Then Jonathan Singer began offering a whole line of curated cymbals from various independent makers, sold under the monicker Name Brand, including a beautiful set of 14” hi-hat cymbals that had a crisp, responsive sound. I listened to the sound sample and submitted my order. When they arrived, they were so perfect that I ultimately sold my Zildjians.

I haven’t looked back.

I grew up playing for singers. I LOVE playing for singers. I get to do light, tasty stuff that would get lost in an all-instrumental group. These cymbals are all about that.

While waiting for the suitcase kick to be finished, I set up the snare and hi-hat today and hung out with some brushes in the studio. This is the same setup I began my kit drumming with when I was 14. I’d found a snare and hi-hat for sale in a barn in Gresham for $75, which was a lot of babysitting money back then.

The drum was an old Ludwig model with yellowed marine Pearl finish, and the hi-hat was a Pearl stand with a pair of 13” Zildjian hi-hats. With brushes, it was perfect for accompanying my parents when they rehearsed in our basement studio, or very occasionally for my dad’s voice students when they practiced pop or jazz standards in lessons. Without a full kit, all I could really do was keep time, which was exactly  — and all — that my dad wanted.

It was good training.

I love the sound of this kit and the suitcase kick will round it out nicely.

Little Bitty Drumkit -- Part Two

I picked up this snare drum three years ago at a yard sale for ten bucks.

It's an older CB700 wood drum with eight lugs, and sounds a lot nicer than it ought to.

CB700 was the budget brand for Pearl for many years. I used their sticks in middle and high school, and at least one of my high school band's snares looked very much like this one. There's no easy way to trace the serial number -- these things were cranked out by the thousands -- but based on the font I can guess that it's at least 25-30 years old.

The sound is fine, especially with brushes or lighter sticks, and eight lugs give me a winder tuning range than the six often found on cheaper drums. I haven't done much more than wipe it down and tune it up, and it's great.

I scored the Yamaha drum stand for free on my local Buy Nothing network, as part of a drum kit giveaway.

Amazing what you can find out there if you just pay attention.

Beginning again: little bitty drumkit - Part One

I had a really nice drumkit that I assembled with drums refurbished by Kaleb Shields at WestCraft Drums.

Being a full-sized kit, it required me to be able to drive it in a car to play anywhere.

Eventually, I sold it to a friend for his granddaughter. She’s playing it daily and having a fine time.

As I’ve winnowed down my excess drum holdings, I’ve had a hankering to play a kit again, but didn’t want to deal with the size and logistical demands of a full-sized kit.

So I decided to set up a mini-kit, using a suitcase kick drum, snare and hi-hat.

Part one: the kick drum.

I’d made one of these a few years ago during the early days of the lockdown. It didn’t work out so great, and in the end I gave it to a friend. This time, I decided to buy one professionally made.

I found this online, made by Side Show Drums. A nice solid kick drum built around a Samsonite suitcase. It’s quite simple and bare, but I can add some acoustic foam or carpet inside to muffle it a little. When I’m transporting it on the bus, the snare drum and hi-hat cymbals and stands should fit inside.

I really just want something I can accompany folks with, ideally singers, with brushes or light sticks. 

This should fit the bill.

Next up: Part Two — snare drum.

Benevolent Bill

From the old Nard Solos book, so beloved by rudimental drummers that it’s still in print ninety years on.

On my Rudimental Control pad, which I enjoy more every time I chop on it, with Cooperman #10 sticks. A great combination.

To be a steward of the tradition

1940s WFL practice pad, acquired from previous owner who got it from her father at age ten in 1958. He'd purchased it in the 40s and used it for warmups as a jazz drummer in the Midwest. I'm honored to be the steward of this beautiful, historic pad.

#sharethetradition
#rudimentaldrumming
#wfldrumpad
#coopermansticks

 

New sticks from John Crocken: Moellers in exotic hardwoods!

I decided to take a chance and order a pair of John Crocken Moeller sticks, in Zebrawood.

They arrived today, and they're absolutely stunning.

I already have a pair of Crocken Moellers in persimmon, 70 grams and very well balanced.

The Zebrawood sticks are slightly heavier at 73 grams, but they feel faster and lighter. Also slightly more rigid with less shock absorption. I'll enjoy these with a lighter touch, and sparingly.

Mr. Crocken has been making drum sticks by hand for many decades. He's created multiple sizes for different styles of drumming and each pair is a delight to behold and to play with.
John's in good health but definitely not a young man; so if you've been thinking about getting a pair, this is a good time to hop on it:

https://www.johncrockenpersimmondrumsticks.com/

(Photos: Top -- Moellers in persimmon. Bottom: Moellers in Zebrawood.)